Work holding means for sewing machines



Oct. 12, 1937.

J.VPOOLE WORK HOLDING MEANS FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed May 29, 1955 l jizwizii= I 021% Zfqv/a UNITED STATES PATENT I WORK HOLDING MEANS FOR SEWING MACHINES Jesse V. Poole, Abington, Mass, assignor to Puritan Manufacturing Company, Boston, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application May 29, 1935, Serial No. 23,964

14 Claims. (01. 112432) The specific primary object of the invention lent to those hereinafter described and set forth herein disclosed is to effect sewing of a seam in the claims, for all useful purposes to which in an innersole, for securing a stitching rib, or they maybe adapted, and in combination with the reinforcement of such a rib, to the body of stitch forming mechanisms of any character with 5. the innersole, with the stitches extending bewhich they may be operatively combined. That tween the inner angle of the rib and the edge is, for instance, the invention is not limited to of such body. Innersoles of the character recombination with chain stitch sewing means or ferred to are those used for the making of welt instruments for sewing either a chain stitch or a shoes, having a rib for reception of the inseam lock stitch seam with the aid of straight, rather stitches of the lasted shoe, and of which either than curved, needle and awl. 10 the entire rib, or an inner reinforcing strip or Describing now the specific embodiment of the sheet with upturned edges is attached to the ininvention herein illustrated, nersole body. Such an innersole is shown in my Fig. 1 of the drawing shows in side elevation a application for patent Serial No. 3,897 filed J anstandard type of. chain stitch sewing machine uary 29, 1935. The purpose of disposing the seequipped with work supporting, guiding and griplo curing seam in the manner above briefly described ping means embodying this invention; is to avoid the presence of stitches on the sur- Fig. 2 is a side elevation on a larger scale, face of th insole which lies uppermost inside of partly broken away and shown in section, of the the finished shoe; hence avoiding the necessity elements in which this specific form' of the inof placing a sock lining in the shoe to cover vention has been embodied as attachments to a 20 such stitches, while providing the strength of standard commercial machine;

connection between the innersole bodyv and its Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the parts shown rib which is afforded by a sewed seam, beyond in Fig. 2; the strength given by adhesive alone. Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the work support- In the production of articles thus stitched, on ing member of the attachments above referred 25 a commercial scale at low cost by automatic sewto; ing machinery, a serious and baffling problem Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a fragment of was to insurev correct and accurate placement an inner-sole (shown on an enlarged scale), of the stitches at the edge of the sole at the stitched by the use of the means shown in the proper distance from each of the faces of the preceding figures. 3 sole; insuring that all stitches will pass through Like reference characters designate the same enough of the body substance to be properly parts wherever they occur in all the figures. formed and held from breaking out, while insur- As illustrating the problem which I have solved ing on the other hand that they will not pass by this invention, attention is directed first to through to the inner surface, (the surface which the innersole shown in Fig. 5. a is the body of 35 comes next to the foot in the finished shoe). The such innersole, which may be of leather, leatherpresent invention embodies my solution of this board, or any other natural, artificial or fabriproblem. cated substance suitable for such articles. b I have applied this embodiment to a sewing represents a rib for reception ofth'e stitches of 40 machine of well known type, which sews a chain the inseam of the lasted shoe; which may be 40 seam and feeds the work step by step by the comade of an originally separate strip of any suitaction of an awl, a straight needle, a looper, and able material bonded to the body by cement or a cast-off. The commercial design of such a maa coalesced impregnant; or may be an integral chine is shown in the accompanying drawing, but flap formed by channeling into the contiguous modified or altered by the addition of means Surface of the b dy and bent p C D 45 novel with the present invention for suitably losents reinforcement for the rib; here shown as eating the work piece in position to receive a strip of textile fabric bent on an intermediate stitches in the manner described, and alternatelongitud line to fit o the, inner angle b ly releasing and gripping it to permit feedin tween the body and rib.. It typifies any such re- 5 and rigidly holding the work, respectively. inforcement, of whatever material made, and

Notwithstanding what has been said above whether made from a relatively narrow strip, or about the specific purpose, problem and embodifrom a sheet of fabric wide enough and properly ment of the invention herein disclosed, it is to shaped to cover the entire area of the sole within be understood that the protection which I seek the rib and bent up at its edges against the inner extends to all means and combinations equivasurface of the rib. d, d represent the stitches 55 of a seam passing through the reinforcement at the angle thereof and through the contiguous substance of the body to the outer edge thereof in a location between the broad faces of the body. This seam is an important factor of the innersole, as it perfects a connection between the rib reinforcement and the innersole body additional to that of the cement or adhesive with which the reinforcement is secured before stitching, and of more permanent character. The location of the outer loops of the stitches in the edge of the body leaves the inner face'e of the latter (that is, the face which comes next to the foot of the wearer in the finished shoe) entirely free of stitches, hence with its original smoothness unimpaired, and avoids the need of a sock lining to cover the roughness which would otherwise be caused by stitches passing through to such inner surface. However,the placement of stitches in the manner shown, particularly in a thin innersole, so that they will neither break out nor mar the inner surface, was a difficult problem. It was necessary to insure placement of the outer loops of the stitches far enough from the face which carries the rib to anchor them against tearing or cutting the sole substance and pulling out, while at the same time avoiding danger of passing through to the inner face of the sole at too great a distance from the edge. It was highly desirable also, if not actually essential, to insure placement of the stitches in an even line.

In Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, the numerals H, I2, l3 and I4 represent respectively the awl, needle, cast-01f, and looper of a commercial chain stitch sewing machine. The awl is carried by a reciprocative awl bar l5 and the needle and castoff by parallel reciprocative bars, only one of which appears in the drawing, and is designated 16. These bars are reciprocated in proper time with one another, and the looper is moved in a curved path, by the means for that purpose with which the commercial machines are equipped. Being well known, such mechanisms require no description here and are merely suggested by dotted lines in Fig. 1. The needle and cast-off" bars are mounted in an oscillative carrier H which moves in a plane perpendicular to the plane of Fig. 1 for feeding the work.

On a pedestal l8, rising from the base of the machine, is mounted a work support Hi. This support has guide portions 20 fitted adjustably in guideways in the pedestal, whereby it may be moved forward or back for adjustment; and it is secured by suitable clamping means, shown here as set screws 2|. The work engaging portion of this support is a forwardly extending nose 22 having a slot 23 through which the needle passes and in which it may move for feeding. The front and rear faces of the nose are inclined to the path of the needle and awl at angles suitable to enter the inner rib angle of the sole, as shown in Fig. 2, when the sole is held with the line in which the stitching thread is to be passed in alinement with the awl and the needle.

A presser foot 24 and a gripper 25 cooperate with this work support. The presser foot is carried by the lower extremity of a vertically reciprocating presser bar 26. It bears downwardly against the innersole rib and presses the latter against the rear inclined face of the work support nose. The gripper is forced laterally to the rear and presses the margin of the sole against the adjacent side face of the presser foot, while at the same time pressing the sole against the outer face of the nose, at least to the extent that it overlaps such outer face. An abutment 2'! is supported on the body portion of the work support beside the rear face of the presser foot to prevent deflection of the latter by the lateral thrust of the gripper. This abutment is adjustable in the front to rear direction, and is clamped by screw heads 28 of which the shanks pass through enlarged holes in the base member of the abutment and are screwed into the body part of the work support.

The gripper is carried by an arm 29 pivoted at 3d to a bracket 3i on the side of the overhanging head 32 in which the awl bar and presser bar are confined with capacity for reciprocating movements. A spring 33 presses the gripper carrying arm 29 inward or rearward. This spring surrounds a rod 34 which passes freely through a hole in the arm 29 and is made fast at its rear or inner extremity to a projecting rigid part 35 of the bracket H. An adjustable nut 36 on the outer end of rod 34 serves both as an abutment for the spring and as a means to adjust the force exerted by the spring on the gripper. An adjustable stop screw 31 carried by the arm is arranged to abut against the bracket projection 35 to establish the limit of inward or rearward movement of the gripper. By the proper adjustment of the agencies last described, the sole edge may be firmly gripped and correctly located to receive the stitches d of Fig. 5.

To permit feeding of the work, the grip of the holding members must be relaxed after each stitch has been formed. Release is effected in part by the rise of the presser foot and in part by withdrawal of the gripper. Rise and descent of the presser bar in proper sequence with the movements of the stitch forming mechanism are effected by mechanisms of the standard machine. The gripper is moved by the presser bar through the agency of a roll 38 and a cam 39. The roll is mounted on a bracket 40 secured to the presser bar, while the cam is secured to the gripper carrying arm. The cam is a wedge-like block having an inclined face 4! on which the roll bears. It is secured to the arm by screws 42 passing through elongated slots 43, which permit adjustment longitudinally of the arm; and the bracket 4% is similarly adjustable along the presser bar, and is made fast by a set screw 44. These adjustments permit accurate timing and placement of the gripper.

The mode of operation will be so plain from the foregoing as to need no further description. It may be noted that, while the presser bar necessarily moves slightly as the gripper comes into firmly gripping engagement, and as it commences to withdraw, such movement of the presser foot is resisted only by sliding friction with the workpiece and has no effect detrimentally or otherwise on the work.

In case it is desired to locate the stitches at a different angle to the plane of the sole than that shown, other supporting and gripping means of different surface configuration may be substituted for those here shown, or some of them. For instance, the sole may be held at adifferent inclination from that shown in Fig. 2, or its margin may be bent or curved more or less sharply; results which may be obtained by adjusting these members or by substitution of equivalent members for one or more of them, or by both substitution and adjustment. The gripper 25 is shown as detachably secured to its carrying arm 29 by screws 45 to facilitate substitutions. Similarly the presser foot 24 may be detachably secured to the presser bar, as will be understood by those skilled in the art without illustration of any specific detachable fastening. The manner in which the work support I9 is secured to the pedestal I8 permits its easy removal and substitution of specifically different equivalent supports.

While the presser bar in the machine here shown in essentially the same as those used with the commercial machines to which the present embodiment of the invention has been applied, the presser foot is different, for 'it'not only coperates by downward pressure with an underneath support, but it also cooperates by lateral pressure or reaction with a rearwardly pressing gripper. Its opposite faces, which engage the work and the abutment 21 respectively are parallel with its line of movement.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: t

1. In a sewing machine having a reciprocative needle and complemental stitch forming means, work holding means adapted to hold an innersole of the type having a rib projecting from one face in a line back from its edge, for placement of stitches extending between the inner rib angle and the nearer edge of such innersole, comprising a support having work engaging surfaces respectively at opposite sides of the needle path and oppositely inclined. thereto, and gripping members arranged to press the rib of the innersole against one of such faces and the body part of the sole against the other face, while grasping the edge part of the sole between them.

2. In a sewing machine having a needle move able back and forth in a prescribed path, a support having work-engaging surfaces at respectively opposite sides of such path and inclined thereto oppositely to one another, a presser arranged to cooperate with one of said faces in gripping the work, and a gripper arranged to cooperate with the other of said faces and with a side of the presser in gripping the work, said presser being movable toward and away from the work support in a given path and the gripper being movable back and forth in a path transverse to that of the presser in line with the work gripping position of the presser.

3. The combination in a sewing machine with a reciprocating presser bar, a reciprocating needle, and associated stitch-forming means,'of a work support having inclined faces respectively at opposite sides of the needle path and oppositely inclined thereto, a presser foot carried by said presser bar in position to cooperate with one of such inclinedfaces to grip the work, a cooperating gripper arranged to coact with the other face of the work support and with the nearer side of the presser foot in gripping the work, and means to actuate the presser bar and complemental gripper for grasping and releasing the work in a prescribed sequence with respect to the operations of the needle and associated stitch-forming means.

4. The combination in a sewing machine with a reciprocating presser bar, a reciprocating needle, and associated stitch-forming means, of a work support having inclined faces at opposite sides of the needle path, a presser foot carried by'said presserrbar in position to cooperate with one of such inclined faces to grip the work, a cooperating gripper arranged to coact with the other face of the work support and with the presser foot in gripping the work, said gripper being movable in a path transverse to the path of movement of the presser foot, and an abutment at the opposite side of the presser foot from the cooperating gripper having a presser foot engaging face parallel to the line of movement of the presser foot.

5. In a sewing machine having a reciprocative presser bar, a reciprocative needle and cooperating stitch-forming means; a work support having a work engaging face at an inclination to the line of movement of the presser bar, a presser foot carried by said bar to cooperate with the said inclined face in gripping the work, and an abutment arranged to engage the presser foot at the opposite side thereof from the said work support surface, the engaging face of said abutment being parallel to the line of movement of the presser foot.

6. In a sewing machine, a reciprocative presser bar, a presser foot carried thereby, a cooperating gripper movable toward and away from the presser foot in a line transverse to the movement of the latter, yielding means acting on said gripper tending to move it toward the presser foot, and complemental wedging members connected with the presser bar and gripper respectively organized to cause recession of the gripper when the presser bar moves in one direction and to permit advance of the gripper when the presser bar moves in the opposite direction.

7. In a sewing machine, a reciprocative presser bar having a presser foot at one end, an arm pivoted to the machine structure beside the presser bar and having a gripper movable toward and away from one side of the presser foot, and 00- operating means carried by the presser bar and arm respectively, arranged to cause movement of the arm and gripper away from the presser foot when the presser bar moves in one direction and to cause approach ofthe arm and gripper toward the presser foot when the presser bar moves in the opposite direction.

8. In a sewing machine, a reciprocative presser bar having a presser foot at one end, an arm pivoted to the machine structure beside the presser bar and having a gripper movable toward and away from one side of the presser foot, cooperating means carried by the presser bar and arm respectively arranged to cause movement of the arm and gripper away from the presser foot when the presser bar moves in one direction and to cause approach of the arm and gripper toward the presser foot when the presser bar moves in the opposite direction, and a presser foot abutment at the opposite side of the presser foot from said gripper with which the presser foot is in sliding engagement.

9. In a sewing machine, a reciprocative presser bar having a presser foot at one end, an arm pivoted to the machine structure beside the presser bar and having a gripper movable toward and away from one side of the presser foot, cooperating means carried by the presser bar and arm respectively arranged to cause movement of the arm and gripper away from the presser foot when the presser bar moves in one direction and to cause approach of the arm and gripper toward the presser foot when the presser bar moves in the opposite direction, and a work support having opposite work engaging faces so inclined that they converge toward one another and toward the space between the presser foot and gripper.

10. In a sewing machine, a reciprocative presser bar having a presser foot at one end, an arm pivoted to the machine structure beside the presser bar and having a gripper movable toward and away from one side of the presser foot, cooperating means carried by the presser bar and arm respectively arranged to cause movement of the arm and gripper away from the presser foot when the presser bar moves in one direction and to cause approach of the arm and gripper toward the presser foot when the presser bar moves in the opposite direction, a work support having opposite work engaging faces so inclined that they converge toward one another and toward the space between the presser foot and gripper, and an abutment at the side of the presser foot ppositeto the gripper having a face in sliding engagement with the presser foot and extending in the direction of reciprocation thereof.

11. In a sewing machine, the combination with stitch forming mechanism, of a work support having convergent faces adapted to be embraced by portions of a work piece, a presser foot movable toward and away from one of said faces to press one portion of the work piece against said face, and a presser arranged and operated to press another portion of the work piece against one side of the presser foot and against the other convergent face of the work support.

, 12. In a sewing machine, the combination with stitch forming mechanism including a needle movable in a prescribed path, of a work support, a presser foot movable toward said Work support into work-gripping relation thereto at one side of the needle path, and away therefrom, and a gripper movable toward and away from the presser foot at the opposite side of the needle path in a line transverse to the movement of the presser foot, and in position to press the work against the side of the foot when the latter is in work-gripping position with respect to the work support. a

13. A'sewing machine forplacing a scam in a ribbed innersole between the inner angle of the stitch receiving rib of such innersole and the outer edge of such sole along a line in such edge intermediate the surfaces of the sole, comprising a Work support having convergent faces adapted to be embraced by the body and rib of the innersole in the inner angle thereof, such work support, having a needle passage between said convergent faces, complemental grippers organized to grasp the edge portion of the innersole between them and to press the body and rib parts of the innersole against said convergent faces, a needle reciprocatively mounted to travel in a path extending through the said passage of the work support and thence through the gripped part of the innersole and across its edge, work feeding and stitch forming means cooperating with said needle to feed the innersole and form stitches, and means operating said grippers to grip and release the work in proper timing with the operations of said needle and cooperative means for the sewing of a seam in the location specified.

14. In a sewing machine having a needle movable back and forth in a prescribed path, a work support mounted across, and having convergent work-engaging faces at respectively opposite sides of, such path, said support being adapted to occupy the inner angle between the body and stitching rib of a ribbed innersole of the type used in making welt shoes, a presser arranged and operating to grasp the rib of such an innersole between itself and one of such faces, and a gripper arranged and operating to grasp the marginal part of the innersole body between itself and the other of said faces and the presser; whereby to hold points in such inner angle and the adjacent edge of the innersole in the needle path.

JESSE v. POOLE. 

